TAIWO FAROTIMI
Olusegun Mimiko, former governor of Ondo State returned to the Labour Party, LP at a colourful ceremony in Akure on Thursday. For Mimiko it is a homecoming. He ran for his first term as governor on the platform of LP in 2007. But by the time he was going to run for second term in 2014 Mimiko changed party. He adopted the then ruling party at the centre, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. He had submitted his letter of resignation from the PDP on Wednesday, but Mike Omotoso, a factional chairman of LP addressed a press conference same day in Abuja stating that Mimiko would not be welcome back to Labour Party.
He said the former governor abandoned LP few days to the party’s national convention in 2014, adding that “Such a treachery and betrayal of a party that gave the former governor succour in the darkest hour of his political career, especially as manifested in his two-term victory on the ticket of the Labour Party, is to say the least cheap and callous.”
With such scathing criticism by a leader of the party coupled with speculations that some of Mimiko’s associates had abandoned him, there were anxieties on the declaration on Thursday. But the massive reception, rather than deflate Mimiko’s political ego actually proved that he still has a good following.
Omotoso had said that the former governor had not imbibed the social principles of Labour Party and thus his return would not be in the interest of the party. Had Omotoso been present at the Akure event less than 24 hours after his press conference he would have been surprised at the turn out.
Abdukadir Abdusalam, national chairman of the party led leaders of the party to receive Mimiko. He said Omotoso had no right to speak for Labour Party. He sees the former governor in different light. He said “The Labour Party is elated that a social democrat like Dr Mimiko, who through his sterling performances as governor mainstreamed pro-people and pro-poor people policies, programmes and projects, is returning to add value to the party.”
The former governor said his defection to PDP in 2014 was not a vote of no confidence in the Labour Party. Rather he said he went to the then ruling party because he saw a shift towards the restructuring of Nigeria with the convocation of the national conference by former president Goodluck Jonathan. He said, “We thought helping to elect a presidential candidate that had demonstrated this commitment to the restructuring of the country was well worth the risk associated with our having to step out of our LP platform onto PDP, on which the former president was running.” But since Jonathan did not win his second term bid, Mimiko believes that the objective of pursuing the restructuring agenda would have to be sought on another platform.
